Smith or Calipari

[SportsFan]

I was a massive Cal fan. I defended him and I made excuses for his shortcomings.

Don't beat yourself up over that....you were simply one of practically the entire fan base that did the same.... myself included. When Cal was hired I was posting on Facebook like I had just won the lottery. For weeks that was something I might randomly post about (i.e. - "can't wait for the upcoming Kentucky basketball season", etc. etc.). Matter of fact, during Kentucky's championship season of 1996 I said repeatedly that "if Rick Pitino ever leaves to take an NBA job, that UMASS coach is the guy I want to replace him". So yeah, I was a huge Cal fan.....until I wasn't. And that started right around the Wisconsin loss in 2015. It was a slow burn right up until the 2019 Elite 8 loss to Auburn. After that, I was in full blown "I WANT CAL GONE" mode.

I hated admitting that Cal was no longer the guy I highly respected, but I had to be honest and see him for what he was. Eventually, he made it very easy to hate him.
and Mitch...ugh. that guy needs to leave the room when contracts are negotiated. My goodness, he didn't learn his lesson with the deal he gave Cal, he turned around and doubled down when he gave Stoops a lifetime deal. I mean, how stupid can you be? He put UK in an awful position in both cases. thank God John Tyson was just a little dumber than Mitch.

True. On both the Cal and Mitch fronts (and about the Tyson chicken $$$)

[SportsFan]

I was that guy. Loudly that guy.

It was definitely not an overreaction, though, as time has proven.

I knew when Bo Ryan reached in and ripped out what remained of his heart that Calipari was finished after that loss.

I pretty much agree with you, but I was a little more closeted about it.... mainly because so many people seemed to love Cal and it was kind of hard to be so vocal about your opposition to a guy that had won a national title a few years earlier, been to 2 other Final Fours (including a championship game) and had just came off of a 38-1 season. Acting like I wanted a coach that had won a title and been to 4 Final Fours in a 6 year period gone publicly was pretty much asking for others to ridicule you and question your judgement. But like you said, time has vindicated both of us.... and I did become vocal about it after the 2019 Elite 8 loss to Auburn. That was the final straw for me.

[KentuckyWild2020]

I think the press style defense went the way of the dinosaur because the game evolved to the point where even guards on bad teams can easily break any press and push ahead for easy buckets.
the last team that tried it was West Virginia, but Huggins trashed it because they were getting shredded.
it was fun when Pitino did it. Those UK teams used to smother the heck out of everyone they played.
I would love it if Pope found a way to do it effectively though. Would be fun with a deep team like this one.

Game changed so much it's about who can take the most 3 point shots lol lol.

For a few years in the NBA, the new trend was too shoot the ball within the first 7 seconds of the shot clock, analytics said the shooting percentages % were higher.

It still wouldn't hurt my feelings to see Pope turn up the defense in spurts.

As for the press and Pitino, i seem to remember him teaching kids to poke away the ball from behind if they got beat but again, that was a long time ago and my memory gets glitchhed sometimes..

[blueheretic]

moo

[Fitchslapped]

Would have liked to have seen what Tubby could have done with the last five years of Cal's recruits. I'm guessing UK would have made deeper tournament runs.

Tubby's coaching and Cal's recruiting. Interesting that Cal seemed to have Rick's number. Rick could recruit and coach. Big stage? Cal just had overwhelming talent? Maybe that was it...

I'd buy Tubby lunch. Wouldn't accept lunch from Cal after the last 4-5 years of his career and the way he left UK.

[Mr.Nezzer]

This is always such a hot button topic....as this thread shows.
Tubby was one heck of a coach but was cautious/no engaged in the recruiting side. Cal in the flip side pushed the recruiting side while having staff that guided his coaching (IMO)

For me I backed both coaches and wanted them both gone at a certain point. But if cornered for an answer comparing both coaches 10 year window at Kentucky. I'd give Cal the nod.
Comparing their entire tenures at Kentucky its pretty much a draw with a slight lean towards Tubby because Cal really screw up in his last 5 years.

[Cat9Lives]

Cal is a hall of fame coach that brought the program back from the Tubby years

Tubby just can’t coach. He was handed a Cadillac and turned it into a Yugo.

Tubby never built a FF four team in his career. Cal has taken even school he’s coached to a FF.

4 times here.

There’s no comparison.


Like asking which is better, ice cream or a turd.

Tubby had a lot of shortcomings for a program like UK. To say he “just can’t coach” isn’t the right argument though. His coaching was never the problem, in my opinion. He needed to recruit better and handle star players (like Rondo) better.

[blueheretic]

His Ball Line D could be annoying but I ain't gonna say that Tubby couldn't coach.

He could not build a complete team. That was his true downfall. He always seemed to be missing a piece.